Any Experience with flechettes?

This is a discussion on Any Experience with flechettes? within the Reloading forums, part of the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics category; I am relatively new to reloading and I have always wanted to experiment with some military surplus flachette. I researched it a little bit on ...

Any Experience with flechettes?

I am relatively new to reloading and I have always wanted to experiment with some military surplus flachette. I researched it a little bit on the web, and found that it does such extensive bodily damage, that the military doesn't use it because it is in-humane. It is known to penetrate body armor at 500 yds!!!
Has anyone experimented with it? and if so, what powder, and how many flachettes did you use?

"Our Country won't go on forever, if we stay as soft as we are now. There won't
be any AMERICA left because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our
women and breed a hardier race!"
-Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC

The flechettes out of a shotgun aren't that great. They had the most effect when loaded in the 105MM and 155MM howitzer rounds, they were known as "Beehive" rounds. They were used as a last ditch effort when camps or strongholds were being overrun. It was used to penetrate the thick jungle foliage.

Shotguns rounds only hold a few dozen flechettes. I don't believe that a shotgun round, which is relatively low velocity will penetrate a vest at 500 yards. The Beehive round might, it was much faster.

I played around with them years ago.Sure they'll penetrate lots of things, but they are light. Ever seen one? It looks like a finishing nail with fins stamped in the end instead of a head. I cant see it being any more effective than buckshot.

The flechettes out of a shotgun aren't that great. They had the most effect when loaded in the 105MM and 155MM howitzer rounds, they were known as "Beehive" rounds. They were used as a last ditch effort when camps or strongholds were being overrun. It was used to penetrate the thick jungle foliage.

Shotguns rounds only hold a few dozen flechettes. I don't believe that a shotgun round, which is relatively low velocity will penetrate a vest at 500 yards. The Beehive round might, it was much faster.

I played around with them years ago.Sure they'll penetrate lots of things, but they are light. Ever seen one? It looks like a finishing nail with fins stamped in the end instead of a head. I cant see it being any more effective than buckshot.

Nails!!!

I shot tens of thousands of them in Vietnam in the 2.75" rockets we used with our Cobras. We never left for a mission without some of them with us. Each pair of rockets fired contained 4,400 of the little darlings. They were the perfect area weapon for "soft" targets, however we had AK-47's given to us by the grunts who went in to inspect our handywork on the enemy that were pierced all the way through by the flechettes. That includes the metal parts too. We affectionately called them "nails" They are made of very hard carbon steel and we actually used them as such to do small construction projects around camp. As far as using them in shotgun rounds, as long as they are legal where you are, I guess they'd be ok, but they depend on velocity to stabilize in flight. As mentioned above they might be a neat novelty, but it's hard to beat good old fashined 00 buckshot.

I've shot a commercial round with a 12 gauge into celotex (sp) at 10 yards or less.
Some of them had complete penetration and some partial. Others hit sideways and just left a big dent. I don't think I'd trust them for SD.

I don't mess with anything like that but I did meet a guy that loads 2 rows of them into what used to be flares. 37mm sound right? It's like a giant shotgun shell and shoots from a pistol looking thing.

The flechettes out of a shotgun aren't that great. They had the most effect when loaded in the 105MM and 155MM howitzer rounds, they were known as "Beehive" rounds. They were used as a last ditch effort when camps or strongholds were being overrun. It was used to penetrate the thick jungle foliage.

Shotguns rounds only hold a few dozen flechettes. I don't believe that a shotgun round, which is relatively low velocity will penetrate a vest at 500 yards. The Beehive round might, it was much faster.

I played around with them years ago.Sure they'll penetrate lots of things, but they are light. Ever seen one? It looks like a finishing nail with fins stamped in the end instead of a head. I cant see it being any more effective than buckshot.

I used them in Vietnam, fired out of an M79 GL, also seen the effect of firing them out of a howitzer, very messy seeing Charley nail to trees. I agree with the other posters though don't think it would make a good shoot-gun round.

“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” James DeanPhil (NRA Member and Vietnam Vet)
------------- My CCW ----------------No Guns Here Boss
I gave them to the naked Pigmy's in New Guinea